Gacha Gacha Hero

Ash and Luke looked at each other. They looked back at the figure that was threatening them with a wicker crutch.

“We were being chased by a monster. It was running after us in the woods.” Luke offered.

“What happened to it?” The figure asked.

“The monster?” Ash inquired.

“Yes, the monster.” The figure retorted.

“Uh, it died. I think. At least it stopped chasing us.” Ash concluded.

The figure put down her crosse. “Great. Then you can leave.” She gestured off into the distance with her stick. “Road should be over that way.”

The figure turned to start walking away.

“Wait. Please…” Luke took a step forward.

The figure paused.

“Please help us. We’re injured. We’re tired. And… it’s all my fault.” Luke’s head dropped.

The woman was taller than average. She was dressed in black overcoat that flared out at the bottom. She wore a wide brimmed hat that had a number of chemical burns on it. Her face was concealed by a leather mask and forge goggles. The stick in her hand had a woven wicker pocket at one end.

She advanced down the hill. The woman made easy strides even on the wet grass. When she was less than a meter from Luke she suddenly stopped. The handle of the crosse in her hand shot out and *Thumped* Luke right in the sternum.

Luke *Coughed* at the sudden impact.

“I told you to get lost.” The Acrid Apostate said through her teeth.

Luke sucked in a hasty lungful of air. “And I told you… we need help.”

“Not my problem pretty boy.” said the woman.

“Please.”

“Why should I bother?” she asked.

“Because it’s… the right thing to do?” Luke offered.

“Hahaha!” The woman laughed right into Luke’s face. “Oh you’re serious… Where in the world do you come from where you think strangers will help you for nothing.”

Luke wobbled. “I’m from the Capital, or I was actually from Star Town, but I made a mistake. And now we’re out here lost in the woods, and we lost our horses, and we went into a dungeon, and we found a-”

“Stop. Stop. I don’t want to know anything about you. All I want is for you to leave.” The woman waved her hands.

“Please.” Luke pleaded again. “My friends need help.”

The woman tipped the stick up under Luke’s chin, forcing his head up. She looked him in the eyes. Luke’s rain drenched face reflected in her goggles.

*Sigh* “Pathetic. Even the ravens wouldn’t eat such sad eyes.” She mused.

She pulled the handle of her crosse away from Luke’s chin.

“Fine. The two of you and your…” she started.

“Bark. Bark.” Eins yipped from between Ash’s arms.

“... and your dog can come with me.” she finished.

“The three of us.” Luke added.

“Pardon?” she raised an eyebrow.

“There are three of us. Our friend needs help.” he said.

Luke rotated his body so that Ave was in view.

The woman *Sniffed* “I thought your friend was a leather backpack.”

Ave’s mouth made a tight line.

The woman turned on her heel and stalked back up the hill.

“My cabin is this way. Better hurry before the rain fills your boots.”

#

“This is a very nice cabin.” Ash said.

The group shuffled into a roomy cabin at the top of the hill. The exterior of the cabin was mortar and stone while the interior was coated with plaster. The roof was tiled with ceramic. A spiral staircase in the corner led up to a second floor and down to a basement.

“Thanks.” The woman replied. “I was just thinking how nice it would be to have a group of strange children tracking mud all over my floor.”

“Thank you for this.” Luke said.

“Yeah yeah. Feel free to hang up your ?rags? on the coat rack.” she said.

The Acrid Apostate hung up her overcoat and placed her wide hat on the top of a standing coat rack. Underneath her overcoat she wore a loose bodice over a shirt and loose pants all in shades of black.

She had a curvy frame with strong athletic arms and thighs. Her face had round cheeks and delicate ears. She was missing a finger on her left hand. Her supple hair was drawn into three long pleats. Two were draped down in front of her shoulders while the last one hung down to the middle of her back.

“What, uh, should we call you?” Luke asked.

“My name is Belbuk.” she answered.

“Can we call you Bel?” Luke asked.

“No.” Belbuk said tersely.

“Oh…” Luke said.

Belbuk pulled a table out from a corner. “Put your friend down over here.”

Luke walked over. He set Ave down on top of the table. Ave dangled her legs over the side. Belbuk pulled a stool up to the table.

“What’s the damage?” Belbuk asked.

“My left foot.” Ave answered.

“Does it hurt?”

“Only when I try to stand on it.”

“Let’s take a look.” Belbuk leaned over and put her hand on Ave’s boot. She turned the footwear a little to the side and squeezed the leather. Ave winced.

Belbuk frowned. “It’s mighty swollen. Your foot is stuck in there like a turd in an alleycat.” She turned around. “Hey pretty boy.” She said to Luke.

“Yes?”

“Bring me that leather bag over there.” Belbuk pointed to a shelf. “And be gentle with it!”

Luke picked up the bag and brought it over to the table. Belbuk opened the bag. She pulled out a roll of leather from inside. She unrolled the parcel. It was filled with a variety of gleaming metal tools.

“Are you a Barber?” Ave asked.

Belbuk picked up a steel scalpel.

“Yes. I’m also an Alchemist.” Belbuk said. “Now try not to move.”

Belbuk balanced Ave’s leg on her lap. She delicately placed the scalpel against the boot. Luke and Ash stood in the corner and watched. Eins peeked out from under the table. Belbuk made several shallow cuts into Ave’s leather boot. After cutting a long groove she used a pair of curved scissors to cut a strip of the leather away.

Belbuk put her tools away. “That should be good enough.” She pulled the leather flaps apart. “It’s looser now. I’m going to pull it around the heel. Ready?”

Ave nodded.

Belbuk grabbed Ave’s calf muscle with one hand and the boot’s heel with the other. With a smooth motion Belbuk pulled the boot off of Ave’s foot.

Ave’s foot was purple and swollen.

Belbuk examined the foot in her lap. “That’s a bad sprain. It’s a good thing you weren’t walking on it.” Belbuk gently lowered Ave’s foot back down. She stood up and looked at Luke and Ash. “I need you two to go check on my barn.”

Luke shook his head in confusion. “Huh?”

“Go check on my barn. It’s down at the bottom of the hill.” Belbuk repeated. “I need you to make sure it’s not leaking.”

Ash looked through a window. “But it’s still raining.”

“Then you better hurry.”

“What direction?” Luke asked.

“At the bottom of the hill. Now go. Before I throw you all back out into the storm.” Belbuk said.

Ash grumbled to himself. “Fine. Keep an eye on our… dog. Okay?”

“I’ll get them some water.” Belbuk called.

Ash and Luke opened the door and trudged back out into the rain.

Belbuk fetched a pitcher of water from her kitchen. She filled a dish with water and set it on the ground next to Eins. She went to put the pitcher away.

Eins stared at the dish for a moment. Eins looked at Ave.

Eins whispered.

Ave whispered back.

Eins grudgingly started *Lapping* up water from the bowl.

Belbuk came back into the room. She pulled a small tin container down off of a top shelf. She opened it up and removed a slender stick of wax about 10cm long. She put one end of the sprig in her mouth and started idly chewing the end. The wax sprig was as round as a pencil. As she chewed a gelatin was released from inside the core of the wax stick.

“So what’s the deal? Are you in danger?” she asked.

“What do you mean?” Ave replied.

Belbook lifted her chin and pointed at Ave’s foot.

“Did they do this?”

“Luke and Ash. Those two? Not a chance.” Ave scoffed.

“Understood. Still, I had to check. How did it happen?” Belbuk asked.

“I’m not sure you would believe me if I told you.” Ave leaned back on the table.

Belbuk brought Ave a towel. “Try me.”

Ave started to dry herself off. “I had a fight with a Paladin and a Shadowbeast.”

“At the same time?”

“No. One then the other.”

“And you only got a sprained foot?” Belbuk questioned.

“It was also frozen for a little while. I might have made it worse saving us from a dart trap.” Ave added.

Belbuk chewed the wax sprig. “That sounds really stupid. Almost too stupid to be a lie. So I guess I’ll believe you for now.”

The front door of the Cabin opened. Ash and Luke lumbered back into the living room dripping wet.

Ash squeezed the rainwater out of his eyes.

“There was no barn!” Ash shouted in frustration.

Belbuk shrugged. “Really? Damn. Rain must have washed it away.”